The prior art is documented with numerous examples of weighing scales and apparatuses. A first example of this is the truck mounted scale mechanism of U.S. Pat. No. 7,196,276 to Cope for measuring the weight of loose material and which teaches the scale mechanism supported upon the tailgate of a delivery truck with a winch for deploying the scale from the transport position. The scale includes a frame mechanism pivotally supporting a hopper having a gate-controlled discharge chute operated by an air cylinder with weight cells located between the hopper and the frame. A computer on the scale mechanism operatively controls the air cylinder controlling the gate on the delivery chute of the truck bed, the air cylinder controlling the discharge chute gate on the hopper such that the loading, weighing and dispensing of the loose salt from the truck bed to the customer storage facility is automated until the system is halted by the operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,499,581, to Tribble et al., teaches a vision system for calculating a volume of fluid disposed within a container. An imaging device captures and stores an image of at least the volume of fluid in the container. A background is disposed behind the container such that at least the volume of fluid in the container is disposed in front of the background and a processor performs at least one operation on the stored image to calculate the volume of the fluid within the container.
Estes, U.S. Pat. No. 7,541,549, teaches a vacuum transfer apparatus having a load isolation weighing system including a rigid pipe section pivotally mounted to a support frame. A weighing hopper is mounted to the frame via at least one load cell. The weighing hopper is provided with an inlet connected via a product line to a product inlet hopper and a sliding outlet gate. An actuator valve is operatively connected to the weighing hopper and to a vacuum source.
A controller is operatively connected to the actuator valve and also controls the opening and closing of the sliding gate. The product line includes a flexible pipe section and a rigid pipe section pivotally mounted to the frame at a pivot disposed substantially vertically below the center of the flexible pipe section. In this fashion, and upon an operator keying into the controller a target rate of product transfer and a target weight of product in the weighing hopper, the actuator valve applied a vacuum to the weighing hopper in order to transfer the product from the inlet hopper to the weighing hopper. Upon reaching the preset target weight of product in the weighing hopper, the actuator valve bleeds off the vacuum in the weighing hopper before the load cells weigh the product contained in the weighing hopper.
Newton, U.S. Pat. No. 7,683,271, teaches a system for accurately weighing a mass of material, including a closed chamber having a gas inlet and a gas outlet. A scale is disposed in the closed chamber. An inert gas supply, under positive pressure, is connected to the gas inlet and a vacuum powered pressure regulator is connected to the gas outlet to maintain a predetermined pressure level within the closed chamber and to substantially inhibit pressure fluctuations within the chamber that may affect accuracy of the scale.
Montagnino, U.S. Pat. No. 6,541,714, teaches a scale with a holographic projector including a weight measurement device to which the projector is coupled. Activation of the weight measurement device activates the projector which projects into mid-air a holographic image indicative of a weight of an object being measured. Optionally, the scale may include a display coupled to the weight measurement device.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,892 to Li teaches a mixing scale including a base which supports a scale pan in horizontal position. The scale pan supports a receiver container for holding the contents of that which is to be weighed. The mixing scale includes a backing member extending upwardly from the base including an output display for presenting measurement values produced by the scale. A visual flow monitoring device such as a reflector is placed proximate to the output display to allow a user of the mixing scale to monitor the measurement value presentation and flow of an additive being delivered into the receiver container simultaneously, or without requiring, a physical shift in position by the user which might otherwise disrupt the delivery operation.